Instructor Pilot Said He Was 'Stressed' By KSFO Approach

At a meeting called to discuss cockpit automation procedures and other safety issues in the wake of the accident in  San Francisco involving an Asiana Boeing 777-200, the NTSB released a 45-page report based in part on interviews with the pilots on board the airplane.

Asiana Flight 214 impacted a seawall after apparently failing to maintain a proper approach speed while landing at KSFO on July 6th. The pilot, a trainee in the 777, told investigators that he thought the autothrottle was on during the entire approach, when it had been placed in "Hold" mode and did not re-engage during the final approach.

The summary of the report says that the pilot, Lee Gang Guk, said "the autothrottle always maintains speed, so he did not think about that, but in case of manual throttle condition, he should maintain it."

USA Today reports that the instructor pilot told investigators that the approach was "very stressful" and "difficult to perform" in an aircraft the size of the triple-7.

At the hearing, which was postponed from Tuesday due to inclement weather in Washington, D.C., board members raised questions about whether the autothrottle was operating correctly, how closely cockpit equipment is monitored, and why so few difficult landings are aborted.

The pilot flying said he did not hear aural warnings that the airplane was falling below its targeted speed, though the instructor pilot said he did hear the warnings.

The hearing was not held to establish probable cause. “We want to learn lessons," said NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov